VERY GOOD POINT!!! At startup or new project there’s nothing to play and therefore nothing to blow your eardrums ANYWAY!!! Talk about overlooking the bleeding obvious. I’m embarrassed to say the least.

As I originally described, I took a guess at some of the meaning and attempted to offer some advise and solutions based on that guess. If I missed, apologies. There were multiple aspects and I remain uncertain as to what some of it meant.I feel like any further comment on the OP's posts without further information or explanation from the OP would seem like just "piling on" and I have no intention of doing that. I really just wanted to help, even when cracking a bit of humor. No offense ever intended to the OP. It just indicated a lack of understanding on my part.

And I think what sjoens meant was that he begins with his interface monitoring output volume turned down, opens/sets up a session then brings up that monitor output control to his common (calibrated/standard?) level. If so, give that (man?) a prize cigar!

At the moment there are a ridiculous number of loudness measurements, there is:Peakk12k14k18Standard vuRMS There's a new one called 17.7 or something and maybe one or two more, so while programmers are constantly fiddling about with one thing (supposedly) superseding another, it helps nothing in real life.Arguments will go on forever about what is right or wrong. Mixcraft could do with a "default normalize on" button on the main output to protect ears. The demo song "it takes time" is running at +9 db + but all of the individual tracks are well below 0db. So, its either an accumulation of all the tracks or some other issue causing the main out to run exceptionally hot. The main output track FX includes a limiter that apparently does nothing (or it wouldn't allow +db so its a matter of using a 3rd party gizmo to control the main level. I use the Hornet plug-ins "Angle" and it works either in manual or auto mode, the Mixcraft limiter is deleted.

Actually....(Note, A long time ago I stripped that project and another in that folder- "I cant go on this way"- gained staged and remixed them as an example for someone I was trying to help, in an effort to show the potential difference between methods. Unfortunately I think my versions are long since deleted or I would be happy to share them here.)

First off, no offense intended toward Mitchell, but I would have to suggest that specific project is a poor example of how to work, levels and loudness wise. JMO, and I dont know, perhaps its the sound he was going for. And in the end thats all that matters. Dont look at meters and just listen.... Right?But yeah, actually there are overs on several of those tracks and yes, the master is peaking over 0, even after the limiter as well.

And for the record, I think it could sound better! But that's a matter of taste and opinion.And perhaps the example leads to or adds to some misunderstandings....